


I Never Told You What I Do For A Living

by HoldmeHeathen



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-24 21:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7523068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoldmeHeathen/pseuds/HoldmeHeathen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank's life is going well for him. He has a good job, good friends, and an overall decent life. That is, until he finds out he's being targeted by a notorious serial killer, and the police are no where near finding them. Will he be saved in time? Or will he just be another victim?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I watched a few cars go by before setting foot onto the road and making my way quickly across the street to where the grocery store was. The heat was pretty much unbearable and I regretted my decision to walk as soon as I stepped foot outside, but for some reason I told myself that I desperately needed to exercise that day. I hated my brain sometimes.

I managed to get into the store without melting into the sidewalk, but seeing how busy the thing was, half of me wished I did. I stepped into the air conditioned store, the smell of produce and plastic bags invading my nostrils all-too quickly. I grimaced at the smell, pushed a quarter into the little slot in the cart, then pushed it out and into the cold grocery store. I made my way around, grabbing cabbage and carrots and anything else I needed to make dinner tonight. I didn't usually need much, as it was just me and my dog for the time being. I hoped I would meet someone nice one day. That day just hasn't come yet.

I ripped one of the small produce bags off of the cylinder shaped thing it was on, then began putting apples into it. And of course, I managed to make a couple fall off into the ground in the loudest way possible. One hit my cart, the other hit my foot. It hurt, and it made a loud noise to everyone around me.

"Shit," I muttered, bending down to pick up the two apples I had dropped. I jumped as a taller man bent down and grabbed them for me, then came back up and greeted me with a rather charming smile. He had black hair that framed his face quite nicely, and was wearing a black t-shirt and ripped jeans. I secretly wondered how he wasn't melting in this heat.

"Here. Don't worry, I just did that over at the oranges two minutes ago," he chuckled, placing the two apples back onto the shelf. "People wash them when they get home anyways, and you already have five."

I rose an eyebrow, then began to tie the bag in my hands and put it in the top of my cart with the rest of my groceries.

"Thanks. I'm Frank," I said, trying to be polite. The man seemed to be thinking about my name whilst staring at me and my outfit and my hair. "What's wrong?" I asked after he had been staring for a little while.

"Nothing! I just like you style. You remind me of someone I used to be close with. My name's Gerard."

I smiled a bit awkwardly, then bit my lip. He did the same, chuckling a bit and taking a step back, a basket resting in the crook of his arm. "I'll go before this gets anymore awkward. Nice meeting you, Frank," Gerard said, and he waved slightly before turning around and walking off. He walked in a peculiar way, like he was bouncing or floating. It was kind of funny to watch, really.

I pushed the cart off to another isle where I got a few boxes of very unhealthy snacks that I would regret eating later, and a bottle of Pepsi. I also grabbed a case of water and shoved it under my cart. From there, I got a few random items for breakfast, like waffles and cereal (Cinnamon toast crunch, to be exact), then pushed my cart to a register.

I looked down at the cuffs of my pants while I was walking as I had felt something weird going on with them against my ankles, and I accidentally slammed right into someone in front of me. I looked up, my eyes wide, as Gerard turned around, a look of slight anger and pain on his face as he grimaced and reached down to grab his heel.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't - "

"It's fine, don't worry."

I frowned, then moved around my cart to help him put his stuff on the conveyor belt.

"I'm really sorry, man," I kept saying. He chuckled and shook his head.

"It didn't hurt that bad, honestly. It just surprised me is all."

I smiled a bit at that, then, once he had all his stuff scanned through, I began loading my things onto the belt. He helped me with that, too, then, once putting the cart back and retrieving the quarter, he offered me a ride home.

"I only live a few blocks away - "

"C'mon, Frankie. It's too hot to be walking outside."

I bit my lip and shrugged. I was a grown man, and I could take care of myself if things went awry. I got into his car in the passenger seat, and he turned it on. We sat there for a second, letting the air conditioning come on first, then he pulled out and began driving to where my house was.

"It has been more than a few blocks, Frank," Gerard said. I didn't like the way he said it. He sounded like a disappointed parent or something. I frowned and shrugged, "I didn't measure it, but I didn't think it was this long away. I'm sorry."

Gerard looked over at me and smiled slightly. "It's alright," he said, fixing his eyes back on the road. He was a good driver, which was reassuring.

"Do you think I could get your number?" He asked suddenly after a moment of silence. I looked at him, a bit surprised that he would ask me that.

"I guess... I'm not that special, though. Trust me."

"I think that someone doesn't have to be special to be allowed to date. That's just me, though."

I smiled a bit, a wave of relief washing over me as we pulled into my driveway. He handed me a small piece of paper and a pen, on which I wrote down my number and signed it - XOFRNK, then handed it back to him and got out to get my groceries.

"Thanks for the ride," I said after gathering all the bags up in my hands.

Gerard only smiled and nodded, then waved to me, and backed out of the drive way. I carried my groceries inside, something still bugging my ankle. I decided I would take a look at it when I got inside.

I opened the door with a bit of difficulty, and my dog came bounding down the hallway, her little paws clicking against the cool, hardwood floor.

"Hello, Sweet Pea!" I cooed at her. I shut the door, kicked off my shoes, then began walking quickly to the kitchen where I sat all my bags down. I put everything away, then sat on the couch to inspect my ankle.

After rolling down the cuff and looking on the inside on my leg, I decided that it was probably just my imagination. It was strange, though. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before.

Suddenly, the phone rang, which made me jump considering people didn't usually call me. A part of me hoped that it was Gerard, but I quickly brushed that hope off. Chances are he wasn't even home yet. And he probably had better things to do with his time than call me.

I picked up the phone and the read the name Josh. I sighed and rolled my eyes, not wanting to get into any of his bull shit right at the minute.

Josh didn't have his life together. He didn't go to college, he didn't even make an attempt at getting a job, and he spent all his days in bed. He wasn't a very productive person.

"Hello?" I asked, the phone against my ear once I had pressed answer. A shiver ran down my spine as someone on the other side laughed deeply. It wasn't Josh's laugh.

"Who is this?" I asked. "Im going to call the police."

The person on the other side stopped laughing and scoffed. "Do it," he said.

The voice didn't sound familiar. It sounded like it had been lowered with some kind of pitch adjuster.

"Since you're still here, I'll give you the run down on what happened," he said, his voice smooth, like he had done this a billion times. "Your friend Josh here opened the door to greet the pizza man. He opened to too far, I pushed in, and now he's lying in a nice pose on his bed for whoever walks in here next. Don't worry, I didn't leave a mess."

I hung up the phone right away after he broke out in laughter the last time and began dialling 911 with shakey hands. This couldn't be happening. Josh was too young. He might've been a mess, but he was too damn young.

"911 what is your emergency?" A lady on the other side said.

"Th-there has been a murder at- fuck, at 64 Polter street," I said, my voice shaking.

"How did you find the body, sir?"

"I got a c-call and I thought it was him so I picked it up and it was someone else. He s-said he killed him and left him in his bed. He m-might s-still be t-there," I said. I was crying now, and I could hear the lady on the other side telling me to try and calm down.

"We're sending police and ambulances right now. Stay in doors, alright? What is your address?"

"91 Brookview street," I said, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth.

"We'll send a few police officers over to your house to have a look at that call and ask you a few questions."

I said alright, and she told me I could hang up now. As soon as I pressed the red button, my phone fell from my hands and onto the rug at my feet. Nothing felt real.

I waited for the police, tears staining my cheeks, curled in a fetal position on the couch. Sweet Pea was curled in my arms, whimpering and trying to lick away my tears.

"S-stop it," I sniffled, wiping my own tears away.

A few moments later, police officers were in my home, confiscating my phone and asking if I was okay.

"My friend is dead! I'm not o-fucking-kay!" I yelled. Sweet Pea jumped out of my arms and the police officer frowned.

"May I ask you a few questions?"

I nodded.

"What did the person sound like?"

"A guy. But his voice sounded... Weird. It sounded like it was lowered with an app or something, y'know?"

The officer wrote that down.

"Do you know of anyone that might've had these feelings towards Josh?"

Too many names came to my mind. Unpaid dealers, gang related people... Lots of names.

"He used to be affiliated with a lot of drug related c-crimes. He sometimes wouldn't p-pay people back. I don't know if they'd go as far as kill him, but..."

The officer nodded and also wrote that down.

"I want to see my friend," I said lowly. The officer shook his head.

"Just got pictures. It's not something you'd want to see."

I started crying again.

"H-he has no family! Who's going to pay for his funeral?"

"Usually, these types of victims are cremated. What do you mean he has no family?"

I wiped my eyes again and swallowed hard.

"H-he was adopted, and he wanted to find his real parents. Turns out his dad and uncle were killed in some kind of biking accident and his mom drank herself away. Found her in a ditch. His adoptive parents are gone. Somewhere in Ohio, if they're still alive. No one has heard from them in forever."

The officer wrote that down, then patted me on the shoulder.

"That's all you have to answer. We'll be taking your phone to look at the call. Do you have a landline?"

I nodded, then gave the number to them.

They thanked me, then left. And that was it.

Josh was dead, and I was alone.


	2. Chapter 2

I got my phone back about a week later after the police found no leads in it. They did tell me that they were tracking down a few gang members the Josh may have been affiliated with. That was a plus I guess.

I saw that Gerard had called me a bunch, and I didn't know if I wanted to talk to him. But, I eventually pressed his contact, then the call button, then pressed my phone to my ear. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Gerard. Sorry for not calling you back... A lot of shit is going on right now."

"That's alright, Frankie. Do you need to talk to someone about it?"

I've already talked to all my friends about it. I decided that having an unbiased opinion about this all would be good for me.

"Y-yeah. That would be nice, actually."

I gave Gerard my address, and about 15 minutes later, he was knocking at my door.

"Hey, Frankie," he smiled, stepping inside.

I offered him a drink as he sat down at the island in my kitchen.

"Sure. Coffee, please."

I nodded and began brewing a pot while he looked around the kitchen.

"I like it," he said, smiling at me. Part of me wanted to yell at him for not being sad like me, but how strange would that be? He didn't know Josh. He didn't know he was dead.

"The reason I was gone was - " my breathing hitched and I felt my eyes start welling up with tears. "My friend died. He was k-killed..."

Gerard stood up as I felt myself break at just saying those words. He pulled me close to him, hugging me tightly. I sobbed into the crook of his neck, surprised with myself at how I was letting him hold me like this even after just meeting a few weeks ago and not even talking in between that time. Something about him just drew me to him.

"It's okay, Frankie, shh now..." He whispered, rocking me as I cried.

"He wouldn't want you to be sad like this... Grieving is good, it's healthy... But just know that it will get better, okay?"

I nodded at his words, then pulled away out of the hug to wipe my tears.

"I accidentally got tears on your shirt," I said, chuckling a bit. He looked down at his shoulder, then shrugged.

The coffee beeped, making us both jump.

"Here, Frank, I can make my own. You go and sit down, okay?" Gerard said to me. I nodded, showing him where the cups were.   
After a moment, he joined me on the couch, a hot cup of coffee gripped tightly in one hand. I looked down at his other hand and saw a white strip where a ring would be.

"Married?" I asked, slightly disappointed. He looked down at his hand and shook his head.

"No... Not anymore."

"What happened?"

He took a long sip of the dark coffee, then put it on the table with a coaster underneath it. He stretched and sat back against the couch, then shrugged.

"We had a disagreement about something... And he left. It's fine. I'm not too sad about it anymore."

My ears perked up at the word 'he'.

"What about you, Frankie? Got a partner?"

I shook my head. "Not yet... Just waiting for the right one."

"Are you - "

"Gay? Yeah. It's hard in this town."

Gerard nodded, and we sat in a comfortable silence while he took another sip of his drink.

"So, your friend... He was murdered? Was it gang related?" Gerard asked cautiously. I caught his eyes for a quick second and noticed that he looked nervous. I guess he was just nervous about asking me that question.

His face was rather unreadable, though, and thinking back to it, his eyes usually were, too. Well, from what I saw at the store and earlier today. I wondered why he would let his nerves show now.

After a moment, I realized I was just staring at him, and I blinked.

"You okay, Frankie?"

That nickname also put me off, because one, only people that were close to me or had dated me had called me that, and adding onto that, we were neither of those things.

My thoughts drifted and I found myself wondering what happened between Gerard and his husband. Gerard was an attractive, charming guy. He looked well put together, his hair always neat and shirt always ironed. Well, from what I saw so far, anyways.

"Earth to Frankie?"

I blinked again, then looked around.

"Sorry. Zoned out. I don't know if it was gang related. The police said it probably was, and they already have a lead on a guy... Want to play some video games?"

The nervousness faded from Gerard's eyes and he nodded. I got off the couch and crouched down in front of the TV, turning on the PS4 and grabbing two controllers. I turned the TV on, then sat back beside Gerard.

"What do you have?"

"Racing games, zombie games, alien games.... Different stuff."

We ended up playing L4D, and Gerard was surprisingly good at it even after claiming he had never played it before.

We played it for a really long time. The only thing that reminded me of dinner time was the rumble in my stomach that was now happening constantly. We beat the round, then I sat up and stretched.

"It's getting late... I should make dinner soon," I said through a yawn. Gerard looked at the clock on his phone and raised an eyebrow at the time.

"Jeez. It is pretty late..."

"Do you want to stay?" I blurted out. I didn't mean to say it. Half of me mentally scolded myself for even thinking it. But, Gerard was nice and he made me feel a bit safer.

"Why not?" He smiled. I smiled, too, then got up and began looking for things to make.

"What do you like to eat?" I asked. Gerard sat down at the bar and watched as I opened my pantry.

"I'll eat anything. Pasta is my favourite, though."

I grabbed a package of angel hair noodles and held it up to show him. "This okay?" I asked. After he nodded, I bent down and grabbed a pot out of the cupboard and began filling it up with water. I heard Gerard shift around in his seat, then I heard him walking towards me.

"I can help make the sauce, if you'd like," he said. He was standing very close to me, and I was backed against the counter, the pot of water now on the stove.

I watched his eyes drift down me and I felt naked. I always felt like that whenever someone would look at me like he was.

He blinked and looked back up at me, stepping away slightly. A small smile appeared on his lips and he turned away, walking towards the fridge to get some of the veggies in it out.

Gerard made the sauce and I made the noodles. After that was done, we both decided to eat at the couch so we could watch a show or something on Netflix.

I watched Gerard eat, as creepy as that sounds, and noticed how careful he was about eating. He didn't make any mess on the table, where as I managed to spill a bunch of sauce on my shirt within the first bite.

He laughed at me a bit, then passed me a napkin to wipe off my chest. I thanked him, then continued eating.

We made light conversation, getting to know each other better. I found out that he was Italian, and an artist. I told him that I worked at a coffee shop downtown and played guitar in my free time.

"What kind of art do you do?" I asked. He shrugged, chewing first, then speaking once his mouth was empty. He had great manners. He must've been brought up well.

"Realism and water colour. Old art is quite beautiful. I have a thing for grotesque art as well. I might show it to you some time."

He smiled a bit, then took another bite and began scrolling through the suggested movies. "Know any good ones?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I don't watch many movies."

I bit my lip slightly and continued to look, trying to find one that was good. We finally settled on an old, black and white film Gerard had said he watched when he was in art school. He seemed to really like old stuff. Old art, old movies... He even told me that his favourite music genre was war-time music. I respected it though, and was thankful he didn't listen to that trashy rap stuff. The stuff that only talked about sex, drugs, and money.

Gerard ended up finishing his plate first, and a few moments later I finished as well. He offered to wash them once the movie was over, but I refused. He was my guest. I couldn't just put him to work or anything. That would be rude.

"Thanks for inviting me to stay, Frankie," he said after we had sat in silence for some time.

"No problem. It feels nicer to have someone with me after Josh... Yeah..."

Gerard frowned slightly and turned his attention back to the TV. I did as well, then noticed I was getting rather tired.

I yawned, then leaned back on the couch. My guess was, was that all of the trauma that had been going on wore me out and my body was starting to refuel itself. I felt Gerard's eyes on me as I drifted off to sleep.

And suddenly, I felt very afraid.


	3. Gerard's P.O.V

I watched as he fell asleep on the couch. His face twitched slightly and I knew he felt uncomfortable sleeping with me right next to him. He didn't trust me fully. Not yet, at least. But I knew I could gain his trust quite easily.

On the outside, Frank looked normal. He looked like he had a stable job, maybe even a partner, but no. His eyes held much more trauma than anyone could guess.

By just looking at him in the store I knew he'd be easy. I knew this wouldn't be a problem. He was a fly with a broken wing, and I already had my web out. Josh was just bait, and I wouldn't hesitate to add more if it meant my job would be easier.

Covering up things like that weren't hard. You probably already have guessed that it was me, right? Or did some part of you wish and hope that it was someone else, someone that would've been introduced much later?

My eyes focused on his body. He was a slim boy, he looked weak and thin. But I knew he could put up a fight. His arms were thick, and his legs could carry him far and fast. He was in shape; I had to be careful about that.

He is also anxious. He doesn't know me well, but I know he wants to. He likes me. If he didn't, he wouldn't have offered dinner or even a mere drink when I first stepped foot in his house. I could also tell he likes me by the way he shifted physically and the way his breathing got a bit heavier when I stood close to him in the kitchen.

This young man craves affection, intimacy, even the slightest touch of another man could set him off in ways he forgot existed. He subconsciously feels like he needs me. His eyes aren't very good secret keepers.

My eyes failed me today. I showed nerves, the nerves that the police might have some how been on my trail. He over looked it, though. He doesn't suspect anything from me. My act is great so far. I just cannot slip up again.

Frank shifted beside me and his eyes opened up. His pupils dilated, adjusting to the light of the screen. The green parts in his eyes were practically glowing, and the edges were red. His hands twitched a bit, and he stretched. I looked away from him before he caught me looking.

"Sorry..." he muttered, yawning.

"It's alright. Julianne just got shot, though."

I have memorized this entire movie. I watch it with all my victims.

"Shit... I thought she was the main character?"

"You will soon see, Frankie," I said. I knew that nickname put him off slightly, but in a good way. He hadn't objected to me calling him it yet at least.

We watched the rest of the movie in silence, and at the end I heard an 'oooh' of realization come from him. I smiled, then turned to him.

"So?"

"It was her sister! That makes so much sense!"

I chuckled and nodded, then pressed the O button on the controller to exit out of the movie. Frank yawned again and scooted in closer to me. I took note of this and looked down at him.

"What?" I asked, still smiling. He looked up at me and shrugged. "You should go to bed. You look extremely tired. I'll take the couch here."

Frank bit his lip, then nodded. He did that a lot. It was probably a nervous reaction. He stood up and left the room for a minute, then came back with pillows, a blanket, and some pyjamas for me. I accepted the PJ's, hoping they were clean. Otherwise I would have to have the longest shower of my life when I got home tomorrow.

"Goodnight, Gee," he smiled at me. I smiled back and nodded towards him, then he disappeared down the hallway and into a room. I laid on the couch in silence for quite a while and waited for Frank to fall asleep before getting up and looking around. I wanted to know about him.

I tip toed down the hall, looking for his main bathroom. That's where he'd keep any medication if he had any problems. I found it at the end of the hall and went inside, shutting the door then turning on the light. Luckily, I hit the right switch and the fan didn't turn on. That wouldn't have been good.

I opened the cupboard slowly and picked up a few of the bottles. There was Zoloft and Xanax, which proved my thoughts about him. He was a sad, anxious man. I wondered what he was dreaming about right now. I continued looking through the cabinet until I heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. I guess my snooping would have to wait until another day. I shut the cabinet quietly, then reached over and flushed the toilet. I opened the door to see a half-asleep Frank standing there, rubbing his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He blinked a few times, then turned on his heel and began walking down the hall. He was dragging his feet along the carpet and his head kept nodding down. He was sleep walking. My brother used to sleep walk a lot, and I knew that you weren't supposed to touch them. But I wanted to see how Frank would react to my hands on him.

I followed him down the hall, then into the kitchen. He was against the counter, blinking at me. I wondered what he was seeing right now. Not me, I knew that for sure. I reached out and grabbed his hand, to which he jumped, but didn't refuse to let me. I pulled him away from the kitchen and to his room, where I sat him down on the bed and watched him sit there for a second. He stood back up, then began walking down to the kitchen.

Part of me wanted to unlock all the doors and open all the windows to see if he'd leave. I didn't do it to all the doors, but I did unlock the front one while he was fixated on something in the kitchen. I joined him back in the kitchen and watched what he was doing. He began walking again, and to my surprise, to the front door. I didn't think he'd actually go to it!

He swung the door open and I watched him take a step outside into the humid air. His body stiffened at the feeling of the stone under his feet, but he kept walking. I watched him from the door, making sure to be out of sight that might come out to help him. He got to the sidewalk before he stood up straight and looked around. I put on my most distressed face and walked quickly out to him. He was looking around, a look of horror on his face. When he saw me, he began apologizing profusely. I waved them off.

"You got up while I was in the bathroom. You walked around in the kitchen, then just walked out the door,"

"I usually lock the door... Did I unlock it?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Or you just forgot to lock it tonight. Let's go back inside."

He nodded and I put an arm around him Sweet Pea had run out and was licking at Frank's feet until we got inside. I hated dogs. They were loud and obnoxious, and Sweet Pea was no exception. I had the urge to just punt her across the yard, but I didn't obviously. Frank would send me home, or worse, cry about it. Seeing him cry today was bad enough. I don't care when people cry, but I have to pretend to. The action makes me laugh, really.

"Thanks for getting me, Gee," he muttered. I nodded and smiled at him. He bit his lip and I wondered what he was nervous about. To my surprise, he took my hand and was pulling me to his room. I didn't object, even though I really wanted to, and he crawled into his bed, patting the spot beside him for me to sit as well. He stared at me for a really long time, biting his lip, and I had a bad feeling about where this was going.

I really should've seen this coming. He's lonely, and now that I showed affection, he thinks he can just do whatever he wants to me. I mean, this process means he'll trust me faster which means my job will be done faster.

Frank looked away from me, then snuggled himself under the covers. I did the same thing, staring at the ceiling for the longest time until I heard Frank's breathing change beside me. I closed my eyes after a while of staring, and fell asleep.


End file.
